Having the opportunity of a couple of free days I decided to head over to the Howgills about an hour and a half drive from Otley. While Monro completion is my main focus over the next couple of years I realised from this website that an interesting local goal could be the Yorkshire Dales Hewitts 30 in total of which I have so far only done 7. I have done the obvious ones including the 3 Peaks but don't even know where some of the others are! the Howgills have 5: The Calf, Calders & Fell Head which I decided to do on day 1 leaving the Yarside & Randygill Top together with a visit to Cautley Spout for day 2.
Starting early afternoon I managed with difficulty to park up 'Annie' our aged VW T4 camper on the narrow Howgill Lane cycle route 68 to follow the bridle way up to the twin trig point & cairn on Winder 473m. This part of the walk was busy with other walkers. Winder was living up to its name as the summit was very windy given the comparatively low height & I was walking into it. Continuing over Arant Haw 605m. Numbers had thinned down to just myself & a lady fell runner both of us struggling to make headway with a powerful side wind threatening to blow us over thinking why not save this day for a less ridiculously windy day! As the fell runner passed me heading back down the hill I forced a way on towards Brant Fell & Calders the first Hewitt In fact as it turned following a gradual horseshoe meant increasingly the wind was behind me even helping me up the final steep rise to Calders 674m. From here to The Calf 676m. With its prominent white trig point along to Fell Head 642m. the ridge keeps its height & is gently undulating with good views especially to the West. after Calders I only met two other walkers coming in the opposite direction who told me it was windy on the short ridge across to the two cairns the latter marking the different descent routes. In my head I doubted it could be as windy as what I'd already encountered. It wasn't but it was very blowy descending for around 200 m. from the end of the ridge lower down you can pick up a good green lane of a path down to Howgill & the minor road I had parked on about 4K of up & down away. It would be a good bike ride & a number of people were cycling along it but not flat!